Drivers 'bit fed up' with FIA leadership - Russell

George Russell is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association

Mercedes' George Russell says the Formula 1 drivers are "a bit fed up" with the leadership of the sport's governing body, the FIA.

Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), said the drivers "weren't aware" of the decision to remove the race director Niels Wittich three races before the end of the season.

The Briton said: "There are a number of drivers who feel a bit fed up with the whole situation and it only seems to be going to a degree in the wrong direction."

Russell made it clear he was referring specifically to the leadership of the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

He said it was "not difficult" to have a meeting with Ben Sulayem, but "having promises fulfilled is another matter".

Russell's comments come at a turbulent time in the relationship between the drivers and the FIA.

Since the last race in Brazil, the GPDA put out an open letter asking the FIA to treat them "like adults", after a controversy over drivers swearing in news conferences.

In Singapore, Red Bull's Max Verstappen was ordered by FIA stewards to "accomplish some work of public interest" after using a swear word to describe his car in a news conference, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fined for swearing in a post-race news conference in Mexico.

Ben Sulayem has previously tried to enforce rules on wearing the correct underwear and forbidding the drivers from wearing jewellery.

The letter also made a reference to a lack of transparency over how money for fines for driving transgressions was being used.

Wittich's departure followed a few days later, and shortly after that it emerged that the FIA compliance officer Paolo Basarri had also been sacked.

Russell said: "Talking as a fellow driver as opposed to my role with the GPDA, everybody felt with certain things that have happened that we wanted to stand united.

"At the end of the day we just want to be transparent with the FIA and have this dialogue.

"And the departure of Niels is a prime example of not being part of these conversations. [The letter] is kind of us putting the pressure back on them."

Russell admitted that the drivers were not fully content with some aspects of Wittich's work since he became race director at the start of the 2022 season. The German has been replaced by ex-Formula 2 and Formula 3 race director Rui Marques for the final three races of the season, starting in Las Vegas this weekend.

He said: "There is no secret that some were not happy with what was going on in terms of the decisions that were being made, but he worked together with us and we could have helped improve the matter.

"Sometimes just hiring and firing is not the solution. Let's see what this new era brings, but every time you make a change you have to make one step back before you take two steps forward."

Referencing the open letter, Russell's Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton said: "It's just to show that, more than ever, the drivers are united, which is perhaps something you have not always seen in the past.

"There are some things that need addressing. The FIA need to be better at working and collaborating with us."

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen also echoed Russell's comments, saying that the drivers felt ignored compared with the days of the former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, who died on the eve of the 2019 season.

"I compare with the Charlie Whiting days," Magnussen said. "He was someone we felt really connected to and we were really being listened to, but now we feel it's more us against them and it should be a closer connection. We can help a lot."

Analysis - unease causes drivers to go public

George Russell was the most outspoken of the drivers on the subject of recent events at the FIA, but he was far from the only one to make his dissatisfaction clear.

Max Verstappen said changing the race director three grands prix before the end of the season was "weird".

The Red Bull driver said: "If you want to change the race director, maybe you do it at the end of the season to give the new one time to get up to speed."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was one of several to say they were "surprised" by the decision, as well as reference the recent open letter on the subject of the drivers being punished for swearing in news conferences.

"There are things to improve and we are trying to work with the FIA," Leclerc said.

Perhaps the most striking revelation, though, was Russell saying that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had not even responded to the drivers - either on the letter, or to explain the decision to sack race director Niels Wittich.

As well as this: "It's definitely not difficult to get a sit-down [with Ben Sulayem], but I think getting things to change or getting promises upheld seems slightly more challenging."

The target is what is regarded as Ben Sulayem's apparently capricious decision-making process, the confusing nature of some of his interventions. The sheer number of senior people who have left the FIA over the past year reflects an organisation with significant issues, many in F1 believe.

"It's clearly not the most stable of places," Russell said.

Generally, F1 people are wary of going public in this way. The fact the drivers feel motivated to do so reflects the degree of their unease.